Jon continued to bounce ideas off Rana for the remainder of the day. The human and bodhi tree sat in relative solitude, bathed in the soft golden-green glow of the Earthen Treasury Womb. Jon had discovered that the name of his ability, Earthen Treasury Womb was a title, one that Rana was allowed to carry with her even after her transformation from a living being into a summon.

The transformation from a living being into a summoning ability was about as straightforward as Jon assumed the process would be. The title of Earthen Treasury Womb was no longer a complete Title, but a part of Ashvattha Rana, even if the abilities associated with such a title were no longer apart of her.

Although she was unable to explain how she obtained the Title Fragments needed to form the Title of Earthen Treasury Womb, the bodhi tree could still describe its effects, albeit with a level of generalization that caused Jon to groan.

"It will not put your future achievements in danger if I tell you that someone can only possess a single Title for each Rank. When you eventually form a complete Mortal Title, it will be up to you whether you desire to take it towards Knighthood, or wait and accumulate another set of Title Fragments, forming another complete Mortal Title", Rana explained.

"The Title Earthen Treasury Womb was without a doubt the strongest Title I had in my possession. It enhanced abilities with specific Traits, increased various resistances towards spiritual energy and prevented others from disrupting the circulation of spiritual energy throughout my Mana Cores. There is one other effect that it granted me, but I cannot say what it did. Although, without a shadow of a doubt, it was the strongest effect of Earthen Treasury Womb".

Jon nodded his head, understanding Titles a little bit better.

The human was still somewhat unsure of why their existence was important, other than the fact that they granted powerful supportive or passive effects. The accumulation of Title Fragments was something that Jon enjoyed and had various suspicions on how to acquire more.

Before that, there was something that he needed to talk with Wilheim and Avahni about.

Taking a deep breath, Jon allowed Rana to return to the gap between his conscious and unconscious mind. The enormous bodhi tree dispersing its physical form, flowing into Jon as a stream of golden-green motes of light.

The human walked back up the riverbank, detecting the faint scent of grilled fish even over a hundred metres away from the campsite.

Showing a small smile, Jon quite loudly stepped on a fallen twig, the sound of cracking wood echoing throughout the riverbank. Both Avahni and Wilheim lifted their heads and turned towards the origin of the sound, relaxing as they noticed Jon's figure creep through the tree line.

"Jon! Hungry!?", Avahni gleefully shouted. The lutin waving the human over, gently patting empty log in between Wilheim and herself.

Giving the green-haired woman a small nod, Jon grabbed his duffel bag on the way over, placing it down beside him as Wilheim handed a piece of grilled fish. He did not miss the way Ru Luan Di eyed his duffel bag, patting the small ginseng king on the head, despite it trying to swat his hand away.

Munching on his piece of meat in one hand, Jon reached inside his duffel bag, pulling out the four Mana Cores he had obtained from Han Of The Red Wind. The size, shape and number of spherical gemstones immediately drawing the eyes of his two companions.

"I have… no use for these", Jon spoke in half-coherent Nain, his words slow yet collected, "I have… four Mana Cores. Wilheim two Mana Cores. Avahni three Mana Cores. These are gifts… if you want them".

The Wind Mana Core possessed a faint pale green lustre to it. Even at a distance, Avahni could see the faint circulation of winds within the spherical gemstone. Some loose hairs fluttered against her cheeks, her gaze lingering on the physical manifestation of wind natured spiritual energy.

The Forest Mana Core possessed a similar colouration to the Wood Mana Core that both Jon and Avahni had previously integrated. While Wilheim did not suspect it would also be a Wood Mana Core, he felt the faintest sense of attraction towards the bright-green coloured gemstone.

Similarly, the Earth Mana Core glowed with a dull brownish-yellow light. While the spiritual energy was quite different to the mountain natured spiritual energy that Wilheim possessed, Avahni also felt no small sense of fascination with the third Mana Core in Jon's hands.

The Salvation Mana Core, which shone with a colouration like the Wind Mana Core, albeit with significantly whiter added to it. While neither the lutin, nor the floresiensis felt a sense of familiarity with the Salvation Mana Core, both stared at the fourth Mana Core with an equal amount of shock in their eyes.

Avahni lifted her head, showing a conflicted expression on her face.

"Jon I… cannot accept this gift. You have given away too much already. You do not need to give Wilheim and I so many- ", Avahni found herself being cut off, as Jon once again reached into his duffel bag, pulling out all his accumulated fragments.

Colours and lustres of various shades, tones, and hues glistened amidst the crackling embers. The Fragment Of Poison dyed the river behind Jon with several different indigos and violets. The Fragment Of Stealth prevented light from passing through it, absorbing it with near perfect precision.

The Fragment Of Ira hummed with a violent red hue, reminiscent of the colour of blood. The Fragment Of Sin possessing a near-unparalleled sense of beauty and grace, a colourless temptation right before their eyes.

While Ru Luan Di had informed his summoner that Jon had been accumulating fragments with his one of his bags, Wilheim could only go wide-eyed, staring at dozen-or-so fragments in Jon's hands.

The human unceremoniously dropped the fourteen fragments onto the wet sands beneath him, although swiftly retrieved the Fragment Of Myriad and Fragment Of Barrier placing them back in his bag.

"In seven days… I will leave. I want to head north, towards the swamplands. Friends can choose one fragment, one Mana Core. "Guild" can choose many fragments, many Mana Cores", Jon did not feel his cheeks flush, despite his half-coherent Nain. The human was serious and did not want to show hesitation in front of Wilheim or Avahni.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Both Wilheim and Avahni shared a glance, understanding Jon's intentions as he laid out the opportunities before himself. The lutin and floresiensis both thought that this was Jon being considerate again. The human had given them both fragments previously, without any sort of string or cost attached to them.

There was little doubt in either of their minds that this was just Jon being Jon. The fragments he had given them had cemented in their minds that Jon was their friend, but the word he had used this time, was different.

"Guild?", Wilheim spoke, presenting the word as more of a question than a statement.

Jon nodded.

"Guild. Not clan. Not tribe. Three different Races. Human. Floresiensis. Lutin", Jon pointed to each of them, before pointing towards Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu, "Ginseng. Carp".

"No blood to tie us. No marriage to bind us. More than friends. An accord. A pact. A promise", Jon said.

Placing one hand over the other, Jon tightened his grip and attempted to pull his hands apart. His fingers remained interlocked despite the visible straining of his veins. The human took a deep breath before pointing towards his chest.

"Wilheim and Avahni are friends. That will not change. But I desire… more. More Title Fragments. More Mana Cores. More task rewards. More knowledge. More strength. I shall reach my hand towards the stars, and grasp them", Avahni almost gasped as Jon repeated a phrase that she had taught him.

It was one of the first things that Avahni had said to him, although was something that he did not understand until quite recently. It was a phrase spoken after making a promise, or an oath, traditionally with oneself.

While somewhat of a hyperbole, the meaning was not lost on Jon, nor on Wilheim. Jon was making a promise with himself and informing the two aliens that he would not stop reaching towards the opportunities before himself.

The human nodded before throwing the Forest Mana Core and the Fragment Of Disruption towards Wilheim. Then the Wind Mana Core and Fragment Of Poison towards Avahni. Jon retrieved the remaining fragments and Mana Cores, placing them back inside his duffel bag.

"This is a gift of farewell. I will not return here for quite some time…", Jon admitted, scrunching up his face as he took another bite out of his fish skewer. The human felt somewhat emotional, although felt no change in his Sea Of Knowledge.

Even if Jon wanted to complete the ninth mandatory task, he did not want to remain stagnate either. While the safety and comfort of this little riverbank often caused Jon to smile whenever he chatted or practiced with Wilheim and Avahni, it was not the reality of his situation.

Rana had informed him of the eventual change that would occur on Earth, and the rest of the 37th universe. The introduction of spiritual energy on a universal scale would change futures of hundreds of millions of worlds across the stars. The moment that a single individual crossed the line between Lordship and Barony, opened the gates towards the other worlds and realms that the System had integrated.

Jon did not want to remain a Lord, or even a Knight when that eventuality occurred. He wanted to be the one to open the gate, becoming the first individual in the 37th universe to become a Baron.

And he could not do it, while remaining in the comfort of this minute section of the small realm.

Glancing towards Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu, Jon gave them both a small nod, before walking off, throwing his duffel bag back beside his backpack. His figure cast a long shadow, even without the usage of [Thou Is But A Shadow Of Oneself]. Wilheim and Avahni continued to watch Jon walk away, the fragments and Mana Cores in their hands forgotten as the human vanished behind the tree line.

The magical source of sunlight within the small realm had vanished, leaving Jon alone as he walked further down the riverbank towards the location where he practiced his abilities and spear forms. The trees and shrubs shrouded his figure, the soft crunching of grass and leaves echoing throughout the forest.

Jon was an independent, self-sufficient individual. He often thought ahead, planning his next move carefully before taking action. It did not matter whether he was searching for a place to rent before the university semester started, or whether he was planning on exploring the rest of the small realm.

Jon had his goals and the desire to achieve them.

While Avahni and Wilheim were both individuals he considered his friends, he knew that they would respect his decision if he wanted to leave the group.

The sound of rustling leaves and branches echoed throughout his Sea Of Knowledge.

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do Jon? All things considered, I would suggest against leaving the lutin and floresiensis. At the very least until you can learn both Nain and Pluntian from Avahi and Wilheim. That will grant you the Lord Ranked reward for the ninth task", Rana stated.

Taking a deep breath, Jon shook his head glancing towards the countdown until the end of the System Introduction.

Time remaining: 937 days 22 hours 9 minutes 49 seconds…

"I will possess another opportunity to complete the task in the future if I can find a System generated Safe Zone. Besides, there is another task reward that I have yet to claim. After defeating Han Of The Red Wind, I had a suspicion that other task rewards would follow the same pattern", Jon smiled, glancing towards the fourteenth optional task, no longer obscured with question marks.

Tasks not required before completion of System Introduction

[14]: Survive a total of more than fifty days outside of a System generated Safe Zone. Individuals shall receive a set reward upon the completion of this task.

Accepting the task reward, Jon showed a grin as a strange blueish-grey gemstone appeared in his hand. While the conceptual weight behind it was quite limited, Jon thought that it would be quite the interesting fragment to integrate, all things considered.

Fragment Of "Rain" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Wood Mana Core, Ice Mana Core, or Spear Mana Core?

Y/N

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